UPDATE: AG’s Office Releases Identities of Officer and Decedent Along With 911 Call and Video Footage Related to Fatal Motorcycle Crash During Pemberton Police Pursuit

TRENTON — The Attorney General’s Office today released video footage from police dashboard and body-worn cameras as well as audio of a 9-1-1 call related to a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred during a police pursuit in Pemberton on April 20, 2023. The driver of the motorcycle who died in the collision was identified today as John R. Nutt, 41, of Mount Laurel. The officer involved in the pursuit was identified as Officer Laquan Jett of the Pemberton Township Police Department.

The deadly crash is under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). The recordings are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 designed to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters. Investigators previously met with representatives of Mr. Nutt’s family to review the recordings.

The crash occurred on April 20 shortly after 5:16 p.m. on County Route 687 West, near the intersection with Davis Street, in Pemberton. The collision unfolded after police received a 9-1-1 call about an incident in which two of the involved parties, later identified as Mr. Nutt and his passenger, left the area riding a motorcycle. Officer Jett attempted to stop the motorcycle in connection with that investigation. A pursuit ensued, during which the motorcycle collided with an uninvolved minivan. The crash resulted in the death of Mr. Nutt, and left his passenger, whose identity is not being released, seriously injured. The passenger was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in critical condition and was later released. The two occupants of the minivan declined medical treatment.

The recordings are available here: https://njoag.box.com/s/ajg1bbck1kb5f87rx4ulaz30cqid2zt6

A 2019 law, P.L. 2019, c. 1, requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.

The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

Further information about how fatal police encounters are investigated in New Jersey under the Independent Prosecutor Directive is posted on the Attorney General’s website at

https://www.njoag.gov/independent-prosecutor